• The dollar pulled away from seven-week highs on Wednesday, amid speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for the next head of the Federal Reserve could be a less hawkish candidate than had previously been expected.
The dollar index slipped 0.2 percent to 93.437, off a seven-week high of 93.92 touched on Tuesday following strong U.S. manufacturing figures.
The euro traded at $1.1762, up 0.2 percent on the day and off Tuesday’s 1-1/2-month low of $1.16955.
The dollar dipped 0.3 percent to 112.55 yen.
• The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning to governments that rely on debt-fuelled consumer spending to boost economic growth, telling them they run the risk of another major financial collapse.
Rising debts might boost economic growth in the short-term but after a year or more they can drag on growth and build risks of a financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
“An increase in the household debt-to-GDP ratio is typically associated with higher economic growth and lower unemployment, but the effects are reversed in three to five years,” the IMF said.
• Major automakers on Tuesday posted higher U.S. new vehicle sales in September as consumers in hurricane-hit parts of the country replaced flood-damaged cars, extending a rally in their shares that began when Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas in late August.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said he is keeping an open mind on bitcoin after a media report that the investment bank was exploring a new trading operation dedicated to cryptocurrencies.
• The World Bank said it now expects China's economy to grow 6.7 percent in 2017 and 6.4 percent in 2018. Its previous forecasts were for China to grow6.5 percent in 2017 and 6.3 percent next year.
The World Bank cut growth forecasts for several countries in Southeast Asia including Myanmar and the Philippines, while raising forecasts for Malaysia and Thailand.
It cut Myanmar's growth forecasts by 0.5 percentage points for both 2017 and 2018, to 6.4 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.
• Oil prices eased on Wednesday, pulled down by caution that a rally that lasted for most of the third quarter would not extend through the last three months of the year.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $50.16 per barrel at 0648 GMT, down 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close. They fell below $50 per barrel earlier in the session.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 22 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $55.78 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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